Pyre

“This is it Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.”

“I know.”
“What do we do?”
“Enjoy it.”

It is the loneliness and most crestfallen day of the year again, and with it brings bad tidings, quotes from a movie that we'll never run out of, and a screamy band capable of matching that inner despondency. Pyre are a five-piece screamo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 2022. Following an EP and a split, they released their debut full-length This Is How We Lose Fullness last year, which is when I first heard of them. After reading the lyrics and seeing how delightfully dismal they were, this band was immediately pegged for this very post. Don't let the song titles fool you, they're just a cover for the bleeding heart drudgery behind them, accentuated by an incredible sonic blend of heavy, dissonant chaos and shrieked vocals (in the vein of Jeromes Dream, Portrait, or Loma Prieta) with melodic breaks that trade off screamed and sung vocals reminiscent of fellow V-Day alumni You And I. The drums are flooring, the guitars harshly cathartic, with melancholic lyrics and vocals that all come together as the perfect recipe for this miserable day. If you want to deepen the wound, links to all the previous V-Day entries can also be found below. Don't enjoy.

Happiness Is Hard To Find (2022)

1. Stare

2. Flies

3. I Wrote It In Guitar Pro

4. Daikatana II: John Romero Will Make You His Bitch, Again

Posted Marked Stamps #4 (2023)

1. Pyre - 3416

2. Biliardo - song3

4. Pyre - Dove Takes Flight

4. Biliardo - halt

5. Pyre - Unforgiven 7

6. Biliardo - the day the insects awaken

This Is How We Lose Fullness (2025)

1. Intro

2. Pond Lehocky Tonsil Hockey

3. How 'Bout One Of Them God Songs?

4. Good Bones, Better Teeth

5. STFUmode

6. Men Love Multi-Level Marketing

7. Flash Floods As Predicted By The Wii Forecast Channel

8. Richard Brandon Has A Hot Dog Dick

9. I Showed You To My Youtube Poop, Please Respond

10. Dove Takes Flight Pt. II

11. Beef Strogan, Seth Rogen, Joe Rogan, Hulk Hogan

12. Cowboy Shit

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Previous Installments

 

2013: The Saddest Landscape

2014: iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook

2015: You And I

2016: Love Lost But Not Forgotten

2017: In Loving Memory

2018: Kite Flying Society

2019: The Khayembii Communiqué

2020: Harrison Bergeron

2021: The Last Forty Seconds

2022: The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra

2023: Vowel

2024: Toru Okada

Meet Me In St. Louis

Meet Me In St. Louis were a five-piece post-hardcore/emo/math rock band from Guildford, Surrey that were active from 2005 to 2009 before reuniting for a tour in 2023. If you're interested in doing a deep dive on the band's history, they conducted a retrospective interview you can read here. In terms of sound, imagine trebly guitars, syncopated rhythms, odd time signatures, robust bass lines, and impassioned vocals that create this cacophony of sound that's as beautiful as it is blistering, just as melodic as it is technical. Their sole LP Variations On Swing is incredible, but if you're looking for just one release a compilation of all their recorded material was put out by Big Scary Monsters, so that's probably your best bet to start with. Enjoy.

Promise me that we'll never be like them. I don't want to wind up like that. Relax, baby. We're going to wind up like us. (2005)

1. I am Champagne and You are Shit

2. Why Thank You, Suzie

3. Corey Feldman

...And With The Right Kind OF Eyes You Can Almost See The High Water Mark That Place Where The Wave Finally Broke And Rolled Back (2006)

1. We Need To Act Like We Don't Need This Shit, Then you Give Us Shit For Free

2. The Kid Who Had His Ear Slapped By The Druggiest

3. Why Thank You, Suzie

4. What Happened To You Dylan? You Used To Be Someone I Could Trust

5. You Said Your Finger Was A Gun

Variations On Swing (2007)

1. The Torso Was Severed In Mid Thorax

2. Well You Damn Well Should

3. Right This Way, You Maverick Renegade

4. I Am Champagne, You Are Shit

5. I Beat Up The Bathroom, I'm Sorry

6. Ein Zwei Drei Hasslehoff

7. All We Need Is A Little Energon, And A Lot Of Luck

8. Come To New York, There Were Fewer Murders Last Year

9. I've Got Knives In My Eyes I'm Going Home Sick

10. You're Doomed

MMVI - MMIX (2015)

1. The Torso Was Severed In Mid Thorax

2. Well You Damn Well Should

3. Right This Way, You Maverick Renegade

4. I Am Champagne, You Are Shit

5. I Beat Up The Bathroom, I'm Sorry

6. Ein Zwei Drei Hasslehoff

7. All We Need Is A Little Energon, And A Lot Of Luck

8. Come To New York, There Were Fewer Murders Last Year

9. I've Got Knives In My Eyes I'm Going Home Sick

10. You're Doomed

11. I am Champagne and You are Shit

12. Why Thank You, Suzie

13. Corey Feldman

14. 1. We Need To Act Like We Don't Need This Shit, Then you Give Us Shit For Free

15. The Kid Who Had His Ear Slapped By The Druggiest

16. Why Thank You, Suzie

17. What Happened To You Dylan? You Used To Be Someone I Could Trust

18. You Said Your Finger Was A Gun

Note: Compilation including their LP and both EP's

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To The North

To The North Brisbane are a four-piece math rock/post-hardcore band from Brisbane, Australia that formed around 2007. They released a handful of EP's and one LP between 2007 and 2015. Members also play in Apparitions, though To The North is still technically active, continuing to play the occasional shows including a festival appearance this month with Blind Girls. Sonically, this band plays noodling, mathy, and angular riffs with clean (or semi-clean guitars) with midwest emo inflections in the vein of Braid or Minus The Bear, with an intense spoken-shouted vocal delivery that recalls Bear vs Shark. If you're new to this band, I'd suggest either Landscapes for something more emo-y or their full-length Lustre for something a little more unique and tightly refined, but ultimately everything here is solid. Enjoy.

Landscapes (2007)

1. Intro

2. Matinees And Make Believe

3. Nights Like These

4. Behind The Paranoia

5. Drift Away

6. Trapdoors

Ohana/To The North (2008)

1. Ohana - Bleed Ideals

2. To The North - Harms Way

Note: To The North track only

To Work And Not Feed (2009)

1. We Are Not Ashamed

2. Cells

3. If Knowledge Was A Rite Of Passage You Would Be A Fucking Genius

4. Pistol Kids

Indiscretion (2010)

1. Indiscretion

2. No Alibi

3. Lustre

4. This City

5. Pistol Kids (live)

Lustre (2011)

1. Release The Brakes

2. No Alibi

3. Doubt The Shadow, Not The Sun

4. Clear Signal

5. Soft Light Through Plain Glass

6. Rescue And Return

7. Indiscretion

8. Progress Broke The Saddle

9. To Question The Moment

Departure (2015)

1. Departure

2. Escape Artist

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Naiad

 Naiad were a five-piece metalcore band from Kyoto, Japan that were around from 2001 to 2006. The band's output was minimal, with just a demo and their 2003 EP Hardcore Emotion being their most definitive release, which is a severely underrated genre-bending masterpiece, with elements of ambient post-rock, intense, searing vocals and off-kilter metallic riffs a la Shai Hulud or 7 Angels 7 Plagues, and melodic, melancholic emo in the vein of Grade or Christie Front Drive, all packed into an incredible 22-minute runtime. This is an incredible release that I wish I had found sooner, so implore you to give it a listen as well for its sheer uniqueness and visceral impact. Members of this band are also now active in .islea. if you want to check them out too. Enjoy.

Demo (2001)

1. Lost & Noticed

2. ☆☆☆☆☆

Hardcore Emotion (2003)

1. Sensuous Tree

2. Believing Dreams

3. Waves Of Influence Strike Within What Truly Moves You

4. Song Of Nature

5. Hopeless Progress

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The Cardinal Sin

The Cardinal Sin were a four-piece emo/pop punk band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that were around from 2003 to 2006. In that time, they released one full-length, an EP, and a split (which I'm missing), all of which consist of a chunky, driving rhythm section, melodic lead guitar noodling, and catchy, layered vocals. If you're into bands such as Motion City Soundtrack (who they extensively toured with), Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, or Latterman, they're definitely worth your time. Hurry Up And Wait also belongs to an elite club of albums with houses on the cover, so it's got that going for it, on top of being a solidly underrated album. Enjoy.

 

Oil And Water EP (2005)

1. Where We Shine

2. Quarter-Life Crisis

3. Woke Up In Pain

4. A Call For Help

5. Bastards Of Young (The Replacements cover)

6. Oil And Water

Hurry Up And Wait (2006)

1. Eye-Opener

2. Under Your Skin

3. Rough Road

4. Saddest Song

5. Keep You Guessing

6. I'll Confess

7. Light Years Behind

8. White Light! What Light?

9. Good For Nothing

10. He's A Space Case

11. Swarm

12. Hell Of A Saint

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Feels Like Heaven

Feels Like Heaven are a five-piece melodic hardcore band from Stockholm, Sweden that was formed in 2022 by three members of Speedway. Their debut album Within Dreams came out on January 1st, 2026, and it is one hell of a way to kick off a year. The album features these bright, crisp guitars that intertwine between shimmering arpeggios, octave-based riffs, and full major 7th chords, giving them a melodic edge atop pounding drums reminiscent of Title Fight or Basement, hints of More Than Life, while other moments harken back to the angular, confessional intimacy of Embrace or Rites of Spring, with vocals that ride the line between gruff and airy. It's a brisk listen, between 10 songs not one of them hit the full three-minute mark, so it's well worth your time to give this a listen (the run during the first half is especially impeccable). Enjoy.

Extended Play (2022)

1. Runaway Dogs

2. Bright Angel Trail

3. When I Touch The Ground

4. Do You Feel It?

The Rest Of Me / Speed Trials (2022)

1. The Rest Of Me

2. Speed Trials

Within Dreams (2026)

1. World Clock

2. Volvo (On The Road)

3. Box Man

5. Sandra Bullock

6. All That I've Got

7. Heavenly Feeling

8. Around The Bend

9. Video Loss

10. Take The Rain

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Best Of 2025

Where has the year gone? 2025 is coming to a close, and that can mean only one thing - the inundation of "Best Of" lists that seem to drop earlier and earlier each year. I still prefer waiting until the year's actually nearing its end, so here's yet another "Top 50 album" late to the game. As always this is by no means an objective lists; all rankings are relatively arbitrary and based purely on personal enjoyment. I was still shifting things around when actively creating this, so take this all with a grain of salt. 

In case you're new here (which seems to be the case as of late, despite my lack of activity this year there was a massive uptick in viewership, not sure why) there are no download links included for these because half of them are copyright strikes waiting to happen, though damn near half of them are available in the "2025 in Review..." post if you want to check there. I also included Spotify links at the end to two playlists - one containing every album in its entirety, and the other containing a select song from each if you want a sample of each. The songs picked aren't necessarily my favourite tracks off each album, rather songs I think best represent their respective albums.

Finally, since I think this will be the final post of the year (I can't top Joy Division from last year), I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who continue to check out this blog or drop a kind comment, I do still see all of them. I know I let the blog slip to the wayside way more this year than I had anticipated, and I said this very thing last year, but going into 2026 I hope to be active and vigilante with updates, and already have some plans brewing for January so keep an eye out for that. Thanks again, and please also let me know what your favourites from this year were. I hope you have a fantastic upcoming holiday, and I'll see you in the new year.

Honourable Mentions:

Great Grandpa - Patience, Moonbeam

Japanese Breakfast - For Melancholy Brunettes (and sad women)

Lord Snow - Have You Heard Of The High Elves

Raein - Forme sommerse

Saturdays At Your Place - These Things Happen

50. Moving Mountains - Pruning Of The Lower Limbs

49. Militarie Gun - God Save The Gun 

48. key vs. locket - i felt like a sketch

47. Drain - ...Is Your Friend

46. Scowl - Are We All Angels

45. Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream

44. End It - Wrong Side Of Heaven

43. Earl Sweatshirt - Live Laugh Love

42. Deadguy - Near-Death Travel Services

41. Turnstile - Never Enough

40. Nuvolascura - How This All Ends

39. Boneflower - Reveries

38. The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow

37. Greet Death - Die In Love

36. The Dirty Nil - The Lash

35. Tyler, The Creator - Don't Tap The Glass

34. Aesop Rock - Black Hole Superette

33. caroline - caroline 2

32. Pupil Slicer - Fleshwork

31. Arm's Length - There's A Whole World Out There

 

30. Black Country, New Road - Forever Howlong

29. Anxious - Bambi

28. Massa Nera - The Emptiness Of All Things

27. Spiritual Cramp - Rude

26. Matt Berninger - Get Sunk

25. First Day Back - Forward

24. Emma Goldman - all you are is we

23. Crippling Alcoholism - Camgirl

22. Home Is Where - Hunting Season

21. Swans - Birthing

20. clipping. - Dead Channel Sky

19. Danny Brown - Stardust

18. PUP - Who Will Look After The Dogs?

17. Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

16. Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo - In The Earth Again

15. Wet Leg - moisturizer

14. The Last Dinner Party - From The Pyre

13. The Armed - THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED

12. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out

11. Pool Kids - Easier Said Than Done

10. Backxwash - Only Dust Remains

9. Billy Woods - GOLLIWOG

8. Perfume Genius - Glory

7. Algernon Cadwallader - Trying Not To Have a Thought

6. FKA twigs - EUSEXUA

5. Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE

4. Geese - Getting Killed

3. Wednesday - Bleeds

2. Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

1. La Dispute - No One Was Driving The Car

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SPOTIFY (SONGS)

APPLE MUSIC (ALBUMS)

APPLE MUSIC (SONGS)

Massa Nera's The Emptiness Of All Things is not on streaming but can be heard here